Toots

Georgia and Armenia are accepting tens of thousands Russian nationals since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I can only speak for my relatives and friends in the UK all of whom live comfortable, happy lives. The only one who is a city dweller is my sister. All the others live in the countryside. Of course they notice things aren't perfect and the ones my age have lived through previous times of austerity e.g. constant strikes, the 3 day week to conserve electricity etc but they just got on with it. The UK will always pull through as it has done in the past.

William Blake who wrote Jerusalem was brought up in the era of the Industrial Revolution. I dare say the mill workers viewed the mills as satanic. I doubt they were pleasant places to work in.

We lived a few minutes drive from Macquarie shopping centre but not far in the other direction there was a strip of shops (Cox's Road) which had a deli, small supermarket, green grocer, butcher and a cafe. it was a handy place to live as our sons' primary school was a short walk from home then they cycled to Epping Boys High School. It was a good place to bring up kids. Also there were loads of green fields back in the day. Now they are all replaced by technology industries.

Ingtegra is the company in Sydney my son used for his double glazing.

We get younger people buying an older house here. They live in it for a few years while renovating then sell for a good profit. Like this one not far from us, built in 1910. They did a good job at renovating. The house sold in less than a month. https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-tas-devonport-140603403

@Amber Snowball probably means more modern houses that have been built on the cheap. Not made to last.

Our house was built 70 years ago. It has been renovated over the years but it's a good well built solid house and it would be a shame to bulldoze it and replace it with a brand new one. There are many houses near us which are over 100 years old. I think houses were better built then. An old weatherboard in the next street was bulldozed last year and the new house still isn't totally finished after 12 months. Watching it being built though, you can tell it's a quality build and it blends in with the older houses in the same street.

There is a pear tree (huge) on one of my walks which produces very nice fruit towards the end of summer, also wild blackberries and hazel nuts at the same time. I just swapped a bucket of lemons for a bunch of rhubarb with a neighbour.

We do too and we don't have mozzies and only a few flies round about the end of January for a couple of weeks. Also never seen a cockroach here.

That bird, the koel drove me batty. The most annoying, monotonous bird call of any bird I can think of. I swear, if I had had a gun I would have shot it. That's how maddening it was.

We lived in North Ryde and a number of years ago their was a horrible bushfire in the Lane Cove national park. It crept fairly close to Chatswood and North Ryde. In fact the Macquarie shopping centre had to close as it was getting very near. Mozzies weren't a worry there but no matter how fastidious you were, cockroaches were a pain. We backed onto a large nature reserve so lots of cockatoos - noisy buggers and during mating/nesting season the magpies were very aggressive and drew blood when they swooped you. Never saw a snake but I'm sure they were around. Don't recall much of a spider problem. The huntsman spiders are harmless (I think!) and were easy to catch with a glass over them and sliding a piece of paper underneath then deposit them in the garden.

There are some lovely old character houses in our area of town. This one is my favourite though far too big for the two of us and I wouldn't want the cost of heating the whole thing during our winters. It used to have a massive garden but houses have since been built on it and made into a sort of cul-de-sac.

There are plenty of houses here in Tasmania that have central heating/underfloor heating but it's by far best to have it put in when you are building. We don't have central heating but have a wood burner which when it's going full blast can heat the whole house when all the internal doors are open. The house never feels cold plus husband sealed all draughts and we have double glazing. We don't need air-con during summer at all where we live as we get a cooling breeze from the northwest so open all the doors and windows which keeps everything comfortable on warmer days.

Our water rates in Devonport are $270 every quarter.

Yes, the Qld climate is sub-tropical so your houses are built accordingly. I watch new houses being built here and you get what you pay for. Some houses seem to be slapped up and others are definitely far better built .......... loads of insulation, double glazing, underfloor heating etc. All that comes at a cost .......... a much greater cost. I bet there are some places inland in Qld where it gets cold during winter. We never had frost where we lived in Sydney but in the western suburbs of Sydney they have heavy frosts during winter and stinking heat in the summer. Different areas of Sydney definitely have different temps. That's another thing new migrants aren't aware of.

I don't think houses here are built to a decent standard and loads of migrants (usually from the UK) often state on this forum that they are freezing during winter. They wouldn't put up with being cold in the UK so I've never understood why they don't heat their houses here. We have always 'fixed' our houses so we are comfortable no matter what the weather is like. It's not that hard to do. No use moaning about it. Fix it.

I know what you mean as we also get the mizzle and drizzle here. I remember leaving work in Sydney during downpours and taking my shoes off to walk to the station as the street was like a canal. When it rains there it really does rain. Also remember days and days of rain round about Easter time - one Easter it rained continuously for nearly 4 weeks. Like you, I hated the humidity during summer.

Chilly again today but sunny. Stopped for a cuppa on my walk at the beach.

Sydney also receives twice as much rain as Melbourne.

Harry the dog has just shuffled back into the house panting. It's 22C in the back garden. Mind you when you turn the corner into the driveway it's 14C and windy. Nice time of year as the daffodils, magnolias and camellias are looking lovely.

At least you got out of Darwin @Huntersmummy. That was a big move to Perth so I'm sorry it hasn't been much better for you there. You know where we are if you feel like having a good old moan. Can't believe some folk PM'd you with a judgmental attitude.

I live in a largish town of 27 thousand people and even though the cost of living is hitting everyone, our town does have some really good facilities. There is a very good indoor and outdoor swimming center plus we are very close to beaches. There are 9 sporting fields which are used for a variety of sports throughout the year and all are well run by the council. I think we are very lucky in that way.

The Australian inflation rate is 6% or 7% depending on various info but I can tell you that stuff in the shops has risen a LOT more than that. Building a house and renovations also much more expensive than pre Covid.

Not so much of a hassle if you don't have children or pets and providing your other half is up for all the pinging and ponging. Personally I really couldn't be doing with the hassle but some people seem to thrive on it.